Rose Bowl says, "C'mon down!'

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, February 3, 1996

1996-02-03 04:00:00 PDT SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA -- SEATTLE - The Seattle Seahawks are starting to smell like Roses for the NFL-deprived football fans of Southern California.

The general manager of Pasadena's Rose Bowl said Friday his stadium stands ready and waiting to be the interim home of the Seahawks or any other football team relocating to the area. And rival groups attempting to build a stadium in the Los Angeles area were clamoring for the Seahawks.

Hollywood Park racetrack owner R.D. Hubbard, who wants to build a new $250 million football and entertainment complex in Inglewood, was the first to issue a public statement about the Seahawks. His efforts are bolstered by a pledge of $35 million from the city to help build the stadium and woo a franchise.

"We are pleased to hear that Los Angeles may once again be home for an NFL team," Hubbard said in a prepared statement. "As soon as the team and the league are able to negotiate, we will be at the table."

However, the Seahawks' move to Los Angeles detoured to court Friday with the county trying to stop "this madness" of shifting NFL franchises by holding the team to a lease that runs through 2005.

Seahawks owner Ken Behring countered with his own suit, claiming King County violated the lease by failing to correct deficiencies that made the 20-year-old Kingdome vulnerable to a large earthquake.

King County Superior Court Judge Dale Ramerman granted the county a 14-day restraining order, and scheduled a hearing Feb. 16 on whether to issue an injunction to keep the team from being moved or sold.

Although Rose Bowl officials say they have had no specific negotiations with Behring, they have told several groups of developers planning NFL stadiums in the Los Angeles area that the Pasadena stadium would welcome an NFL franchise on a short-term basis.

"Literally, we could be ready tomorrow," said Rose Bowl general manager Dave Jacobs.

Ovitz worked with Behring last July to form a plan to move the Seahawks to Southern California when Ovitz headed a talent agency called Creative Artists Agency, a source close to the Los Angeles football scene said. At that time, Ovitz and CAA had plans to spearhead construction of a new stadium on 47 acres in El Segundo, financed by a group from the entertainment industry.

But since joining Disney, Ovitz appears to be more interested in Anaheim, the source said.

The judge's order in Seattle allows the team to shut down and move its local offices and training camp, provided the Seahawks play their home games in the Kingdome next season.

The move will take place this weekend, according to the team's attorney, Ronald L. Olson of Los Angeles. The rhetoric is already flying.

"This madness in football of abandoning loyal fans simply must stop," King County Executive Gary Locke said. "This is a football town, but this community will not be coerced in any form, in any fashion, to keep football here."

Before filing the suit, the county rejected a $20 million buyout offer from Behring and said he could not legally break the lease.

Minutes after county officials announced their legal action, Behring confirmed he was moving the franchise from Seattle.&lt;